The Panda Bear is a perceptive observer of the stresses of modern life. She is a critic of the culture of extreme busyness. She is the voice of the humble and confused. When the Panda Bear discusses current affairs she discusses the truth as she knows it. This blog is not intended to report political facts.

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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The Panda Bear on Windows 8, the Afghani War, and Vietnam

The Panda Bear will have to do another short post this week. Her main computer that she takes with her and works on her blog posts is still in repair. She got a new computer at home which uses Windows 8.

While the Panda Bear is sure Windows 8 has some good features, she finds many features very frustrating. She does not like the fact that you have to log into Microsoft to use the computer. She does not like cloud computing for personal use and would rather keep all her information on her own computer. The Panda Bear wonders if Microsoft will have some privacy groups sue them because it seems like for more functions the user is forced to go online to use them making for less computer security. She liked the old Windows menu and seeing all her open windows are the bottom of the screen. For this post she wanted to share several links but is having a hard time of keeping track of all her open windows so she can link to them.

However, she found this interesting petition online started by a US physician born in Kabul which the Panda Bear wanted to share with her readers. Here is some of what the petition is about:

The Responsible End to the War in Afghanistan Act (H.R. 200), introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA13), could help save the lives of millions and allow us to improve the health of many more. This bill would accelerate the timetable for ending the war in Afghanistan by requiring funds allocated to the armed forces in Afghanistan to be used only for the safe and orderly withdrawal of all U.S. military personnel and Department of Defense contractor personnel in Afghanistan.

While the bill has already gained 40 cosponsors, it has stalled in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which Rep. Ed Royce chairs. Rep. Royce could help bring the bill to the House floor, but so far he has refused, putting the lives of more Afghan children at risk and preventing others from receiving care.

Thousands of children have been treated at the hospital in Kabul since it opened in March of 2001. For the cost of ONE day of war in Afghanistan, EMERGENCY can build TEN high-standard, free-of-charge hospitals and cover all expenses for THREE years!

The ongoing bloodshed in Afghanistan is evidence that a political solution is not feasible as long as American troops remain as an occupation force. If we accelerate the timetable to end the war in Afghanistan, we can improve the lives of millions who finally have the opportunity to live without war.

Sign this petition to show your support to end the war in Afghanistan, the longest running war in United States history, and your belief in healthcare as a human right.
The physician is a board member of EmergencyUSA an NGO that seems to be doing much good in the world. Please click on the link to see about all the wonderful things this group does with all the terrible things going on the world. It is interesting to note that this group wants a diplomatic solution to the problems in Syria not war.

The Panda Bear would like the US to withdraw from Afghanistan. The Panda Bear remembers how much the US was upset about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan when it wanted to keep up a regime it supported in that country. Yet now the US is doing the same thing in Afghanistan as the former Soviet Union. Let the Afghans solve their own problems.

The Panda Bear was a young child during the Vietnam war. She remembers all the war protests and the songs for peace. Where are all the peace protesters now?

Father Panda, may he rest in peace, was one of few people that the Panda Bear knew who supported the Vietnam war at the time. The theory at the time was that if we showed weakness in Vietnam the former Soviet Union would become more aggressive in other countries. Father Panda was a good person and he had the rather simplistic belief that the US army was always on the side of truth and justice. A few years before Father Panda died in 2012, he admitted he was wrong about the Vietnam war and that the US should not have gotten involved in that country.